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The Los Angeles Chargers turned quarterback Justin Herbert into an anime character for their 2023 schedule release video. File Photo by Jon SooHoo/UPI |
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May 12 (UPI) -- NFL teams used elf wrestling, puppies, babies, AI software and more to produce elaborate 2023 schedule reveal videos. The Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers drew the most attention with their creative antics.
Many matchups trickled out earlier this week before the NFL revealed the logistics for its entire 2023-24 campaign Thursday night on NFL Network. All 32 NFL teams posted videos on their social media platforms Thursday night and Friday morning to amplify the contests.
Titans social media team members took to the streets of Nashville to create their popular video. They used a tiny microphone to walk up to bystanders and ask them to identify NFL teams by showing them their logos.
One woman refereed to the Los Angeles Chargers as "Lightning McQueen." Another called the Cincinnati Bengals the "Boston Bobcats." Multiple people refereed to the Indianapolis Colts as the Cowboys.
The "Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Rams, Just the Football Logo, the Red Stallions" and "Pirates from the Islands of the Caribbean" were among the other bogus responses from the group.
As of Friday morning, the video drew about 17.5 million views on Twitter.
The Titans posted an earlier video, which starred Keith Urban and other singers in their initial schedule reveal. The street footage was posted about an hour later.
The Chargers, who roasted teams through anime characters, received about 16.7 million views on their video. That footage featured Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and other NFL players as computer-generated animations.
Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel received the first slight, with the Chargers showing him using a vape pen while onboard a plane.
The Chargers will host the Dolphins in Week 1. The video later showed Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels using a slot machine, which listed the names of quarterbacks.
He ended up winning Jimmy Garoppolo and missing out on Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Derek Carr and Lamar Jackson.
The Chargers put up a message about gambling help to announce their matchup with the Detroit Lions. Four Lions players were suspended last month for their roles in a gambling scandal.
The Cleveland Browns received about 1 million views on their schedule release video through Friday morning. That video featured a cartoon version of Brownie the Elf wrestling lame depictions of their opponents.
Brownie started the skirmish by slamming a pot of Cincy style chili over the head of the Covington Cat, a reference to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Browns will start their season against their division and in-state rivals Sept. 10 in Cleveland. Brownie went on to body slam other characters, including "Edgar Allen Poser" -- a slight to the Baltimore Ravens -- and "Brojack Horsefan," a reference to the Denver Broncos, later in the video.
The Philadelphia Eagles received nearly a half million views on their video, which featured dogs owned by players and coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman.
The Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders, Kansas City Chiefs and several other teams produced tech-themed videos. The Falcons video was in TikTok format and starred rapper Quavo, other music artists, comedians and social media stars.
The Commanders video featured hog mascot Major Tuddy using "ChatDMV," a fictional artificial intelligence software, to make a schedule release video. The Commanders later posted a series of photos of Taylor Swift songs that coordinated with their opponents for 2023.
The Detroit Lions also used AI in their video, creating a fake conversation between coach Dan Campbell, quarterback Jared Goff and others as they played Madden.
The Chiefs video started with quarterback Patrick Mahomes receiving a text from coach Andy Reid about the schedule release. The video continued in text message, Instagram, Twitter and music player app format to announce the matchups.
The Denver Broncos video featured former quarterback Peyton Manning and actress Angela Kinsey, who starred in The Office.
The Chiefs will host the Lions in the first regular-season game of 2023 at 8:20 p.m. EDT Sept. 7 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The game will air on NBC.
The Eagles, who lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, will start their season against the New England Patriots at 4:25 p.m. Sept. 10 in Foxboro, Mass.
The Eagles have the hardest schedule this season, based on the winning percentage (.566) their 2023 foes had in 2022. The Dolphins, New York Giants, Patriots and Cowboys join the Eagles with the Top 5 toughest schedules, based on the same criteria.
